Murray Energy again sues EPA

Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp., the largest private coal producer in the country, said it has filed the lawsuit it promised would come against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for proposing “illegal, irrational, and destructive cap-and-tax regulations for existing coal-fired power plants.”

The EPA, earlier this month, unveiled its plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.

“These cap-and-tax regulations will destroy millions of jobs, cripple the American economy, and cause massive blackouts in our country,” Murray wrote in a press release announcing its lawsuit on Wednesday.

The coal company filed a similar lawsuit against the EPA in March, alleging the federal agency has refused to consider the job and economic impacts of its regulations. Murray also alleged that the EPA holds an agenda to handicap coal while boosting other fuel sources.

Murray’s CEO Robert Murray has been predicting the demise of the coal industry at the hands of current administration for years. The day after the 2012 election, he sent a memo to employees in the form of a prayer that asked forgiveness for the layoffs that would ensue, blaming the “war on coal” for making coal mining and burning uneconomic. He prophesied the "total destruction of the coal industry by 2030."

A year later, Murray announced it agreed to buy five Appalachian coal mines from Consol Energy Inc. for $3.5 billion. The deal was finalized in December.

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